LG Uplus to launch Nvidia's cloud gaming service on 5G

Models promote Nvidia's GeForce NOW cloud gaming service, which LG Uplus will launch on its 5G networks, at the mobile carrier's head office in central Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of LG Uplus

By Jun Ji-hye

LG Uplus will launch Nvidia's GeForce NOW cloud gaming platform on its fifth-generation (5G) networks here, the mobile carrier said Tuesday, noting that it will begin offering a free trial for users of its 5G plans at the beginning of next month.

The new service enables users to play hundreds of games on 5G-enabled smartphones or PCs without downloading them to their devices.

“We will offer the cloud gaming service based on our ultra-low latency 5G networks,” Lee Sang-min, chief of the future and convergence division at LG Uplus, said during a media conference in Seoul. “We will continue to enhance our competitiveness in 5G content.”

The telecom company said it will offer users opportunities to experience the service for free at the beginning of next month before commercializing it.

During the free trial period that will last until Oct. 31, those who use LG Uplus' 5G Premium phone plan or higher ones can try out the service in advance by downloading the GeForce NOW app from app stores. About 150 game titles will be available.

The PC version of GeForce NOW can be downloaded from the LG Uplus website.

The company will also operate cloud game experience zones at 100 stores nationwide from Sept. 2.

Nvidia, a U.S.-based graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturer, has been offering a beta program of the GeForce NOW service for free in North America and Europe. While it has not officially been launched, it has garnered about 300,000 users and more than one million are waiting to be accepted into the program.

When using GeForce NOW, users do not need to buy expensive gaming hardware as high-quality games are available within seconds ― without complicated processes ― on the cloud-based streaming environment, the company said.

LG Uplus added it is still working to fix the price of the new service, saying it will make a decision after monitoring the market situation and use patterns during the free trial period.